Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-04-08
TIE WILD WEST.

was being built, came into my mind.
Talk about dance-houSes, hurdy-gur-
dies. and such things to me, and YOU
have some one who has been there
and seen 'em. The Northern Wiscon-
son and Michigan shebangs are meet
in'-houses alongside of the old u. P.
concerns. When the road reached
Julesburg all you could see in the VAL
ley of the Platte was sand-hills, and
here and there a prairie-dog town, but
it wasn't more'n day and half be-
fore five or six acres of land previously
trodden upon only by the Sioux and
the buffalo was covered by big tents
and few dozen movable houses that
were made in Omaha and shipped to
the end of the road on fiat-cars in
pieces, arranged so they could be put
together in few hours. Six of these
buildings were dance-houses, and the
women who were to be the chief at
traction in them were there and ready
to join hands and waltz to the bar
almost as soon as the roofs were on.
Most of them were the most depraved
of their class, while here and there |
observed novice-younS girls who
had been enticed away from their com
Portable homes in Iowa and Missouri
by men who promised them big wages
to act as walters in dining-rooms.
With visions of wealth honestly earned
they were easily led astray. Think of
dining-room in Julesburg - that
mushroom of town that was built in
day and torn down in night! There
never was a dining-room in it, but
that made no difference once the de-
luded girls were there; they could not
turn back, and they had no alterna-
tive. They were usually provided
with plenty of money as starter, and
fitted out with fiashy togs and advised
to make the best of their lot. Many
of them accepted the situation, while
few, under the protection of some one
perhaps father of children whom
he had left behind in the civilized part
of the world-escaped and returned to
their homes. Julesburg was the most
murderous community in the world,
even worse than Chevenne. which for
many years boasted of a man-and
! often a dozen-for breakfast. With
the exception of few surveyors, the
the train men, and few others, jules
burg's population was composed of
gang of the most desperate thieves,
gamblers, and thugs. Among this
number were the proprietors of the
| fandmgos,' in every instance men
who could brag that the victims of
| their revolvers could not be enumerat-
ed upon the fingers of a single hand.
| The little town with its streets of sand
and buffalo grass was, as said before,
the gamblers Mecca, and the song of
the siren, the picking of the banjo by
fourth-rate performer, the shout of
| the roulet man, and the drunken yells
of the camp followers, were blended
at night in sort of music that don't
care to hear again, although / must
confess that for young man as / was
then it had something of charm-a
sort of realization of the dime novel
fancies of afew years preceding my
| going westward.
/ 'sWell, started out to tell you of
something that occurred one night
when the festivities were at their
height, and the girls with the brawny-
handed Texan, the Mexican greaser,
or the more careless, half-drunken cut
| throat from the slums in the east, were
swaltzing to the bar at the command
of the .caller-off' in hurdy-gurdy.
The fiddler had just placed his violin
on the top of an empty flour barrel,
when a fine-looking six-footer, with
smooth face, and general eastern or
'tendeIfoot appearance, stepped into
the open door. The dancers were
nearing the bar as the handsome young
fellow advanced few PAGES into the
room, and graspcd a pretty but hag-
gard young woman by the wrist. Be
tween his teeth and half muttering an
oath, yet denoting some surprise, he
said: so you are here; my God, wom-
an, follow me quick! The girl was in
the clutch of sunburnt cowboy. who
objected by drawing a bead upon the
intruder, at the same time command
ing him to .let go that gal or off goes
yer head. This was the signal-the
provocation for general unsheathing
of weapons, and in less time than it
takes me to tell it the fusillade had
commenced. 1t was the every day or
night affair, and there was the usual
scattering to places of safety of those
who were not lovers of the sport.
The room was finally deserted, ex-
cept by two men. They were dead,
but hasty examination showed that
neither of them was the tenderfoot.
One of them was the cowboy who had
objected to having the gal taken
away. The handsome voting man
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